Lake County Gazette

One of the balloons shot down by force authorized by the Biden Administration apparently belonged to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade hobbyist group.

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade's balloon has been flying for months and was estimated to have been over Alaska when the group lost its connection to the craft.

“When I heard that [it was a] silver object with a payload attached to it, that could be one of our balloons,” a member of the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade told Politico. “Think about it. We know where the balloon was off the coast of Alaska. We know where it was, if all was well. We know that it didn’t wake up that morning. We know [American forces] shot something down, and the thing they described as having shot down is not inconsistent with what we’re flying out there. So, that’s that.” 

The balloon was said to be similar to $15 balloons used at parties.

“Unless it has Mickey Mouse ears and F-22 pilots got sharp eyes and can discern that, it’s not clear exactly what you’re looking at, the member said. "But the point is that it is not at all a huge reach.” 

Stratospheric balloon consultant Dan Bowen told NPR the balloon, while unverified was very likely the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade’s K9YO-15. "Yes. Absolutely," he said, KALW reported. "You know, I would say with 98% certainty.”

The K9YO-15 balloon was launched on Oct. 10, 2022. The balloon had nearly circumnavigated Earth seven times in 123 days. "For now we are calling Pico Balloon K9YO Missing in Action," club organizer Cary Willis said in a post. The balloon had been tracked by the club over its lifetime. According to NPR, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAAD) – the joint protector of airspace in the United States and Canada – reported the FBI had spoken to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade about the incident. Canadian authorities said they had called off efforts to reclaim wreckage from the site thus being unable to verify the balloon’s owner.

Critics are asking why the Biden Administration expended so much war power to bring down a balloon that would cost between $10 to $15. Illinois Times staff writer Scott Reeder focused his weekly column on the event. “Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that the object had been traveling at an altitude of 40,000 feet and was about the size of a car,” Reeder wrote. “But they didn’t know what the object was, its origin or purpose. President Joe Biden ordered it shot down.” 

“So, a $216 million F22 jet loaded with $433,000 missiles was sent to intercept the object and send it crashing to the earth,” Reeder said. “When I read this, I couldn’t help but wonder, 'Why are we shooting at things if we don’t know what they are?'" He added that if it would be like something he saw running across his backyard 'in the middle of the night and I pulled out my gun and started blasting away,' Reeder said he could be arrested. "After all, it’s stupid to shoot at something if you don’t know what it is. But our government didn’t do it just once. It did it three times – in a week’s time – in the airspace over Alaska and Canada. Each time the Pentagon reported not knowing what they destroyed. If you are going to fire a $433,000 missile at something, shouldn’t you at least find out what it is first?”

The object is believed to be one of three other unidentified flying objects shot down in the days after a Chinese spy balloon floated over much of the continent. The Chinese balloon was spotted over Washington County near Centralia, Sparta, and Red Bud, according to West Kentucky Star.